Appreciating writing skills and devices

Have you ever, having read a piece of Literature, taken the time to appreciate the various writing skills and devices the writer, be it a poet, author, playwright etc., has used to make his piece brilliant? We may not always notice but every piece of writing, like an art piece, is carefully put together, creating a perfect and unique expression of the writer.

Although this piece is rather straightforward, the writer did use a few literary devices. This includes the personification, metaphor and hyperbole among the most common ones.

World Take My Son By the Hand

My son starts to school tomorrow!
It's all going to be strange and new to him for a while
and I wish you would sort to treat him gently. You see, up to now he's been the King of the Roost.
He's been the boss of the backyard. I've always been around to repair his wounds and I've always been handy to soothe his feelings. But now things are going to be different. This morning he is going to walk down the front steps, wave his hand, and start on his great adventure that will include wars and tragedy and sorrow. To live his life in the world he has to live in will require faith and love and courage.

So world, I wish you would sort of take him by his young hand and teach him the things he will have to know. Teach him, but gently if you can.
He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, that all men are not true.

Teach him that for every scoundrel, there is a hero; that for every crooked politician there is a dedicated leader. Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend. Let him learn that the bully is the easiest person to lick.

Teach him the wonders of books; give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mysteries of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on a green hill.

Teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to have faith in his own ideas even if everyone tells him they are wrong. Try to give my son strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is getting on the bandwagon. Teach him to listen to all men but to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidder, but never put a price tag on his heart and soul.

Teach him gently, world, but don't coddle him because only the test of the fire makes fine steel.

This is a big order, World, but see what you can do
He's such a nice little fellow, my son.

By : Dan Valentine ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appreciating writing skills and devices

A Musical Array of Words

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I was doing some reading, wondering what aspect of Literature I was going to write about next when I saw this question - " Are lyrics considered to be Literature?" Many people may ask this question simply because lyrics are most times sung and not read. But how different are the words of a song from a written story or poem or even drama? I personally think that they are not very different at all. In fact, the difference lies in the method of delivery.

The words of a written piece of work are a lot of the times more appreciated when read than when sung. This is especially so with the more contemporary, "up beat" songs about which many people will admit that it is the beat of the song that caught their attention and not the words. Even with the less "up beat" music such as soul, r&b etc, people are "taken away" by the background music without paying any attention to the words. Nonetheless the words of the songs are being sung and a story is being told.

The question still remains. Are lyrics a form of Literature? I think they are. Do you? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Musical Array of Words

A Play of Words

Once upon a time, there were four people;

Their names were Everybody, Somebody, Nobody and Anybody. Whenever there was an important job to be done, Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. When Nobody did it, Everybody got angry because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought that Somebody would do it, but Nobody realized that Nobody would do it. So consequently Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done in the first place.

Author Unknown

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A Play of Words

The Beauty of Literature

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Hey y'all

Today I spent some time reading about Greek and Roman mythology as these had always interested me. I was scrolling through a list of Greek gods and heroes and their equivalent in Roman society when I came across the name Odysseus - a name which i came across while reading about ancient literature. His story is a very interesting one, and to my surprise I had already watched it dramatized many times in the movie "Troy". The bulk of his story was made known to us over the years through Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey". It is amazing how these epic poems written in the 8th century B.C could be used to tell the life story of the great Odysseus even up to today.

You can find out more about Odysseus and other Greek and Roman heroes and gods - Here . In the mean time, I'm off to finish read a book I picked up from my shelf yesterday, The Mineral Palace by Heidi Julavits.

Bye!!!



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The Beauty of Literature

Thou shall not covete a carved bear lol!!

Ron Ervin Disbrowe - Angry Bear©



Today I decided to search through Canada with the aim of meeting up with a carver. For some reason I wanted to have a look at some palm sized carved bears since I had been admiring one a few days back. Luckily, I met up with Ron Ervin Disbrowe.
Ron Disbrowe was born in Northern Manitoba. He is a self-taught artist who loves carving and painting with acrylic, some of which are aboriginal. All his life, he has always been associated with wildlife thus his work is greatly influenced by the beauty and excitement of nature. It was not until 2002 that he started taking his art seriously.

Ron Ervin Disbrowe - Morning Moose©


Most of his art contains animals in their natural environment, but he also undertakes portrait work and spiritual paintings. What really inspired me about his art is the way he uses the variety of colors for the backgrounds and the lighting effects that really brings out the beauty of the subject, and the posture of the sandstone carved bears. They would make a lovely addition to a wildlife carving collection. Check out some of Ron Disbrowe' s work - Here -
Really amazing! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thou shall not covete a carved bear lol!!